A Case Study of Teacher Effectiveness in Advanced Placement Courses

Teaching practices within advanced classes have long been ignored in the research of effective teaching methods and strategies. With the explosive growth in the past decade of the College Board s Advanced Placement (AP) Program there exists a huge segment of American high school education that must be examined to learn how to best educate advanced students. This study examines four Advanced Placement classes in four different disciplines at a small private high school in order to identify some common factors defining teacher effectiveness. Four teachers were observed four times each to collect data regarding their use of class time, the assignments they gave to their students, and their questioning strategies. The teachers were placed into two groups, high pass rate and low pass rate, based upon their prior students pass rate percentage on AP exams. The results of this study suggest some definite strategies that promote student success in Advanced Placement classes. These strategies also may promote student success in International Baccalaureate classes.